1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer.
2. Related Art
In the field of recording apparatuses, a printer is known that includes a recording head and a support member (platen) incorporated with a suction mechanism, and ejects a liquid (ink) from the recording head onto a recording medium (paper) while sucking the paper onto the support member by the suction mechanism, thereby recording data on the paper, for example as disclosed in JP-A-2010-694.
The platen according to the JP-A-2010-694 includes, in the paper passage surface thereof, an adsorption recess for adsorbing the paper and a recess for marginless recording for receiving ink droplets deviating from the paper when performing a marginless recording process. The adsorption recess serves to retain the paper in a flat state, and is hence located at a position corresponding to a recording region where the recording head ejects the ink for recording data on the paper. The recess for marginless recording is located at a position corresponding to an edge of the paper.
The printer according to JP-A-2010-694 includes a pair of transport rollers located upstream of the platen in a direction in which the paper is transported (hereinafter, transport direction) that serve to transport the paper to the platen. The pair of transport rollers pinch the paper therebetween so as to press the paper against the platen, thus keeping the paper from floating upward from the paper passage surface. Accordingly, it is preferable to make the distance between the pair of transport rollers and the recording region as short as possible, in order to keep the paper flat so as not to float upward from the paper passage surface.
Here, once the upstream edge of the paper in the transport direction is disengaged from the pair of transport rollers and released toward a downstream side, the pair of transport rollers can no longer maintain the alignment of the paper. Accordingly, an upstream end portion of the paper in the transport direction between the upstream edge and a position pressed against the platen at the moment that the upstream edge is released from the rollers may be regarded as a margin where recording is not performed. Therefore, a longer distance between the pair of transport rollers and the recording region makes the recordable region on the paper smaller. Thus, from the viewpoint of securing a larger recordable region of the paper also, it is preferable to make the distance between the pair of transport rollers and the recording region as short as possible.
On the other hand, a support surface that presses the paper against the platen has to be provided upstream of the paper passage surface in the transport direction, and the space for providing such a support surface inevitably increases the distance between the pair of transport rollers and the recording region. Also, the recess for marginless recording has to be made longer in the transport direction than the recording region on the paper, in order to receive the ink droplets deviating from the paper. In the paper passage surface of the printer according to JP-A-2010-694, therefore, the support surface for pressing the paper is not provided upstream of the recess for marginless recording in the transport direction, but provided only upstream of the adsorption recess, so that the distance between the pair of transport rollers and the recording region becomes smaller.
With such a configuration, however, the end portions of the paper in a width direction intersecting with the transport direction freely float above the recess for marginless recording. Accordingly, the end portions of the paper exhibit different degrees of distortional deformation depending on the texture, stiffness and so forth of the paper, which makes it difficult to stabilize the alignment of the paper. The failure to stabilize the alignment of the paper leads to deviated landing positions of ink droplets in a recording process, resulting in degraded printing quality.